Vote gives five richest Division I conferences wealth of possibilities

By MICHAEL MAROT
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Published: August 7, 2014;Last modified: September 9, 2014 03:46PM

INDIANAPOLIS — The biggest schools in college sports are about to get a chance to make their own rules.

NCAA President Mark Emmert gestures while speaking at NCAA headquarters in Indianapolis, Thursday, Aug. 7, 2014. The NCAA Board of Directors overwhelmingly approved a package of historic reforms Thursday that will give the nation's five biggest conferences the ability to unilaterally change some of the basic rules governing college sports. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

NCAA KEY POINTS

Highlights of the NCAA’s new Division I governance structure:

Top change: The five biggest football conferences — the ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, Pac-12 and SEC — will have more control over legislation on some of the most contentious topics in college sports.

Checks and balances: To gain control of such issues, a majority in three of the five leagues must agree along with 12 of the 20 presidents or chancellors on the expanded board of directors. The five major conferences have until Oct. 1 to create their first list of proposals.

Everyone else: All 32 Division I conferences would have a voice in legislative matters not deemed “autonomous.” Most legislation will be delegated by the newly expanded board to a newly created council.

Red tape: The NCAA would reduce the large number of subcommittees to three: One focused on academics, one on competition and student well-being, and one to assist the council with its legislative role.

Oversight: University presidents and chancellors will maintain control on oversight and strategic decisions through the board of directors.

Up first is likely finding a way to spend millions of dollars in new money — either in the form or stipends or fatter scholarships — on athletes across the country.

The NCAA Board of Directors voted 16-2 on Thursday to approve a historic package of changes that allows the five richest football conferences — the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and SEC — to unilaterally change some of the rules that have applied to all Division I schools for years. The 65 universities in those leagues will also benefit from a new, weighted voting system on legislation covering the 350 schools in Division I.

“It does provide degrees of autonomy for the five high-resource conferences,” said Wake Forest President Nathan Hatch, the board chairman and a key architect of the plan. “This is not complete autonomy. We’re still part of Division I, but I think it allows us to provide more benefits to student-athletes.”

NCAA President Mark Emmert said the board could veto an autonomous rule change if it goes too far. He described that situation as “rare.”

A handful of university presidents who spoke at NCAA headquarters after the vote agreed on one thing: Paying athletes to play is off the table. And it’s very unlikely that the five leagues will design their own policies when it comes to infractions.

But there’s a good chance the five leagues will take steps to add money to scholarships or craft an athlete stipend intended to help cover the so-called full cost of attending college — costs beyond tuition, room and board and books and supplies. That will be millions more in spending by leagues that are already partners in multimillion-dollar TV contracts to show off their top sports of football and basketball, raising fresh concerns about an arms race in college athletics.

It is a dramatic new start for an organization that has come under increasing criticism.

Already this year, the NCAA has agreed to settle two lawsuits for a combined $90 million and still awaits a judge’s decision on a federal lawsuit in which plaintiffs led by Ed O’Bannon have argued college sports’ amateurism rules are anti-competitive and allow the organization to operate as an illegal cartel. Also pending is a decision by the National Labor Relations Board on whether Northwestern football players can form what would be the first union for college athletes in U.S. history.

While NCAA leaders acknowledge the new system may not quash every legal case or argument, those who helped draft this proposal believe it will give prominent schools greater leeway in addressing the amateurism model and other concerns.